By Arizona Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Arizona lawmakers’ effectiveness is tied to party affiliation, with Republicans dominating bill passage
- The Center for Effective Lawmaking report shows a 20:1 ratio of Republican to Democrat bills passed in Arizona
- Report finds that lawmakers with a narrow policy focus and moderate approach tend to be more effective
What’s it take to be an effective Arizona lawmaker?
To start, have tenure, hold a key position and carve out an area of expertise. Most importantly, however, is to belong to the state’s majority party. And in Arizona, that means the GOP.
A lawmaker’s party registration plays an outsize role in getting bills passed into law, says a report from The Center for Effective Lawmaking. That’s not a surprise, given majority rules in legislative work.
But the center’s report puts Arizona in a class of its own, nationally. Arizona’s Democrats have been nearly shut out of getting their legislation passed into law — much more so than other states where the minority party ends up with little to brag about.
